The U.S. Department of Justice sued AT&T Inc. on Monday to block its $85.4 billion US acquisition of Time Warner Inc., saying the deal could raise prices for rivals and pay-TV subscribers. The government also argued that AT&T would use Time Warner content to slow the industry's transition to online video and other innovative distribution models. AT&T described the lawsuit as "a radical and inexplicable departure from decades of antitrust precedent," according to AT&T head lawyer David McAtee. Donald Trump, a frequent critic of Time Warner's CNN, attacked the merger on the campaign trail last year, vowing that as president his Justice Department would block it. He has not commented on the AT&T deal since his inauguration in January.

Source: CBC News November 20, 2017 21:07 UTC